The Chaos Management
by Jyx The Berserk
Summary: A stranger that seems just a little off has come calling at the door of the Phantomhive manor, ready to serve the young lord within and remedy the behavior of the staff. Questions are only asked about him, but never answered. Who is Gentle, and what reason could he have for serving Ciel?
1. A New Servant

Ciel woke up in his bed, wondering what the hell had roused him from his sleep before Sebastian could. The house was silent, no light dodged around the curtains to indicate morning, and his bed was as comfortable as money could buy. So why was he awake? In the darkest corner of his room was a cushioned chair, out of place from where it had been a few hours ago. It somehow didn't look quite empty, and with all the things he'd been through, Ciel knew it wasn't.

"Who are you? How did you get in?" he asked the almost invisible figure.

"… I am impressed… that you knew I was here…" a voice whispered, and Ciel was half sure he'd imagined it for its quietness. "… I got in… through the front door… and I am here to serve… the head of the Phantomhive family… which is you, Master Ciel…"

"You haven't answered one of my questions," he pointed out, irritated. Sebastian should have stopped the intruder from setting foot on the property line, much less the bedroom rug. Where was he?

"… no, I haven't…" the figure said, a soft rustling and a stretch of shadow showed that the stranger had stood up, and then bowed deeply. Despite the shadow being a head taller than Sebastian, his head was almost to the floor, if Ciel had to guess. "… I am Gentle… once a servant of old gods… and new ones… though I am perhaps… a more literal… version of that word… instead of those… 'men of the cloth'…"

"What do you want, Gentle?" Ciel asked, trying to reach for the bell-pull in the gloom while keeping his eyes towards where the intruder was. He reached around, but only found air. Gentle chuckled, a sound like buffets of autumn wind against windows.

"… No need for that… besides… that rope is here…" Gentle said, and a soft thump next to his body told Ciel that he'd tossed the rope onto the bed. "… As I've said… I wish to serve you… as a manager of… that rabble you call… a staff…"

"Sebastian does that on his own well enough," Ciel defended, but he had to admit that Gentle had a point. Even for 'a hell of a butler,' the rest of his staff was a hassle. "What would you be able to do that he couldn't?"

"… Succeed…" he said simply, irking the head of Phantomhive. "… To prove it… I shall serve you… for a fortnight… without trap or… attached string… If you're are dissatisfied by then… I shall leave… if you are not… we may discuss… my pay…" Ciel thought about it hard. Here was someone who, to his knowledge, had bested Sebastian's senses with his stealth, a supernatural accomplishment. He claimed to be able to manage his staff better than his own butler, but only one thing could prove him right or wrong.

"… Should I agree, what happens to my butler?" he asked, worried that any agreement may replace him.

"… He will serve you… as will I… should you wish…" Gentle said. "… The strings that… bind you two… are strong… not that I couldn't… cut them… but such an act… would be unseemly of me…"

"At least you have some manners," Ciel said. "I agree to your terms."

"…Excellent…" Gentle said. Air that Ciel hadn't even noticed was chilly suddenly warmed. "… I shall meet you… properly tomorrow… in the light… So that… we may… meet… each… other… face… to… face…" Ciel's eyes drooped with each word, and after the last one, he fell back into his pillow.

"Good morning, my lord," Sebastian said, opening the curtains. Ciel grumbled, pulling the covers over his head, but Sebastian was having none of it. "No, you don't, get up here and get dressed."

"Bugger off, I have a pounding headache," Ciel groaned, surprising Sebastian. He really must be in a sorry state if he was willing to curse for extra sleep. "I don't know what made me like this, but I'm going to order you to beat it senseless when I found out what it was." Sebastian closed the curtains until only slivers of light could enter, and then peeled back the sheets.

"Sit up, I must have a look at you," he said, waiting for his master to listen. He did so slowly, holding his temple. Blood stained the pillow in a large red blotch and Ciel's face was covered in crusted flakes of the stuff. "What on Earth were you doing last night, sir? You're covered in enough blood to fill a wineglass to the brim, not to mention ruin the pillow."

"Damn the pillow and damn the blood, help me with this headache," Ciel said, turning his head up enough for Sebastian to see the rest of his face. Dark circles puffed out beneath his bloodshot eyes. Tracks of blood ran from both his nose and the corners of his eyes, coagulated such that it was a wonder he could even open them. "What's your problem?"

"This," Sebastian said, handing him a small mirror. Ciel was shocked at his state and demanded a bath be drawn at once. Sebastian pulled the bell cord, and had Mey-Rin strip and clean the bed sheets. Once in the bathroom, his butler used a cloth to clear away the mess and assisted him in washing the rest of himself afterward. "Almost back to normal I'd say."

"Almost isn't good enough," Ciel said, still holding his head and sighing in pain. "I need something for this, and a pot of tea strong enough to tan leather." He was served breakfast in a darkened dining room, medicine and tea beside his plate when Sebastian informed him of something that jogged his memory in the most unpleasant way.

"Sir, you have a visitor at the door." A fork clattered against a plate of eggs, and Ciel practically jumped out of his chair in his rush to greet the stranger. Sebastian held his shoulder to stop him for a moment. "He's in the entry hall and has a peculiar look to him. I would be cautious." Ciel nodded and resumed his walk at a much slower pace. Indeed, the mansion now felt odd, a feeling which intensified the closer he got to the hall. The feeling vanished as soon as his hand was on the doorknob, which ironically made him even warier. He stepped through.

The man had his back turned, attention on the portrait of his parents hung above the landing on the staircase. He had amazingly dark brown, almost black, hair tied in a low ponytail, long enough to reach just between his shoulder blades. He seemed to be half a head taller than Sebastian, but skinny enough to weigh a bit less. His suit was made by a professional, one Ciel had never met, and was charcoal black. His shoes were black and polished bright, but also not from London. He somehow seemed familiar. Despite Sebastian and Ciel's steps echoing loudly, still, the stranger didn't turn around to face them.

"Good morning, sir, I am Ciel Phantomhive, is there anything I may help you with?" Ciel asked, and he finally got a good look at his face. Whirlpools of mercury sat where his eyes were supposed to be, draining into his pupils to create a void. They drew in Ciel, nearly drowning him, but Sebastian anchored him with a hand on his shoulder as he looked on at the stranger with relaxed features. The stranger smiled.

"Good morning, my lord, I am Gen Teller, but please call me Gentle. I was informed that your staff is not quite up to par, despite the legendary Phantomhive hospitality. I've come to serve you, and remedy the problem," he said, somewhat deep voice echoing perhaps a bit more than it should. "I have a policy I apply to strictly if you'll agree to it, that I work for two weeks without fees, and then discuss terms with my new master afterward. Call it a test trial. So far, not a one has been dissatisfied."

"Then why are you looking to serve me?" Ciel asked. "Surely, your perfect record wasn't sullied at your previous place of employment?"

"Nothing of the sort," he said, unoffended. "My previous master died of old age, may God rest his soul."

"I see," Ciel said. "Sebastian, check his background and credentials. If he passes, give him a tour of the grounds and help him settle in. Make sure he's up to scratch." Sebastian bowed, and Ciel left the room to finish breakfast. Silence descended upon the hall, the two men left alone there staring at each other.

"I confess, I've never met anything like you," Sebastian said, making Gentle smile.

"Few have. I take that as a compliment," he said. "I'm what you might call a dying breed. Others might say my kind were killed off." He shook his head sadly, clicking his tongue. "It's a real shame, my family always made such great butlers, but now look at me; not so much as a cousin to reunite with."

"A tragedy," Sebastian said, tone bordering on deadpan, but still polite. They hadn't blinked yet. "Tell me again, what did you say your previous employer's name was?"

"I didn't," Gentle said. His smile, while relaxed and natural, hadn't so much as twitched since he'd put it on. "I heard that you were brought on two years ago. At least, that's what these walls are saying."

"I've heard that walls have ears, I never knew they had mouths," Sebastian said. Gentle slowly moved a hand across the wallpaper behind him, head unmoved despite the angle.

"You'd be surprised what can listen and speak. The wallpaper may change, but it's still the same wall underneath, and it's been here since your master first walked past it. You can smell the age of the wood if you're careful enough." Gentle said. Sebastian and this man were thoroughly enjoying this game, but both were hiding it professionally. Gentle stepped away from the wall and down the stairs, stride carrying him further than one would expect, and ended up standing directly in front of Sebastian in fewer steps than it should have taken. Neither had broken eye contact. "So, have I earned the privilege of seeing the grounds?"

"I should think so," Sebastian said. "Follow me, and listen to everything I say."

"I shall try my damndest to do so," Gentle said, unable to resist slipping in the phrase. Sebastian looked at him sideways as they began walking, irked at having to look _up_ for once.

"Please refrain from such language, my master is a high-class individual and such language is not tolerated," Sebastian reprimanded. "If you're to serve a Phantomhive, you must dedicate yourself to being as proper as one of your station ought to be. A butler who can't do that much isn't worth his salt."

"Undoubtedly. Please accept my apologies," Gentle said, bowing his head and placing a hand over his heart. Sebastian wondered where he'd gotten the gloves, he certainly wasn't wearing them a minute ago, and wasn't his suit different not moments ago? It seemed familiar somehow. Suddenly he realized: his own outfit was identical. "I always aim to please my masters, and my peers."

"I can tell. If you don't mind my saying, you're as human as I am, but I have difficulty telling what you are. Might you enlighten me?" Sebastian asked, taking a path through the gardens. Gentle smiled.

"As human as you? No, you have me pinned all wrong, my friend." The air temperature plummeted, turning Sebastian's surprised breath into a cloud. Reality warped, the air turned into the rolling and crashing waves of a beach and the ground transformed into the bones of indescribable beasts. The cause was the index finger Gentle was holding up next to his smiling face. "I'm far, _far_ , less human than you."

"I see that now, my apologies," Sebastian replied, unfazed. Reality returned to its rightful state, and they resumed walking. "So far, I've gathered next to nothing about you. Do you intend to keep it that way while you're here?"

"No, I'll tell your master of my capabilities. Should he decide to spill the beans is entirely up to him, but that comes later," Gentle said, flicking a worm from one of the bushes. "For now, all I've seen of these grounds is the entry hall driveway and gardens, hardly a full tour. Let's be on our way, shall we?" Sebastian smiled amicably.

"Yes, we shall. I so hope my lord wishes to retain your services after a fortnight of your company," he said. "I've met your for hardly an hour and already I can tell that I'll enjoy working with you."

"Keep that sadistic streak out in the open, and I could say the same."


	2. Answers From The Smiling Mouth

Despite Sebastian's best efforts to pry answers from the smiling mouth of Gentle, he made good on the promise that only Ciel would receive any information, to distribute as he saw fit. It was impressive that he was able to so closely guard his secrets but mostly annoying.

"Where do you come from?" Sebastian asked. They were walking through one of the many hallways of the manor in the west wing. "I don't want to assume anything, but I'd hazard a guess that you're from a port town."

"You might say that, yes," Gentle said, still smiling. It only just occurred to Sebastian that he was smiling at his attempts to gather information. "Yourself? I would guess from the look about you that you're from a small town in the country."

"Really? What gave you that idea?" Sebastian said. He looked at himself for show, knowing that not a thing about him betrayed country.

"Not a hard worker of the fields, no. You'd have callused hands and tanned skin if that were the case, somebody who wouldn't be caught dead in a suit or silk gloves, and definitely not as thin," Gentle said. Even in the carpeted hallway, his voice reverberated. "You spent almost your entire childhood indoors, perhaps too sickly to stay outside for any meaningful amount of time, and learned more from your mother than your father. Hence, the beginnings of a butler's arsenal: cooking, cleaning, the proper serving of dishes and teas, and care for others."

"Impressive, but I still don't know what tells you I'm from the countryside," Sebastian said, amused.

"Simple: your speed is learned, and you were accustomed to slow living before this profession. Your accent is perfect among the high class and belies long hours of stamping down your natural tone. Nobody has such a perfect accent," Gentle explained. "Plus, I've met plenty of countrymen. Your transition from there to here would be impossible to reverse, but the signs of it are still there." His tone dropped to a whisper. "At least, that would all be true if you were human. You took the easy way out, demon." Sebastian's eyes flashed red at the word, pupils slit and smile peaceful.

"Your powers of observation would make you a fine detective at Scotland yard, but an even better butler," Sebastian said. He opened a seemingly random door and welcomed Gentle into his new room. "These shall be your quarters for your stay, your duties shall be explained in full later. We shall see if you truly have what it takes to tame the utter chaos that is the other four servants of this house."

"I will eagerly prove it to you, as soon as I have an audience with Master Phantomhive," Gentle said, setting his bag on the ground at the foot of his bed. Where had he gotten that from? "Where might I find him?"

"If you'll follow me, I'll direct you straight to him." They set out, and the tour continued as they walked. They passed by the kitchen, a few other minor rooms, the library, and finally made it to Ciel's office.

"Thank you very much, Sebastian," Gentle said. He walked in to stand a few feet away from the desk. Ciel was turned towards the window in his chair. "If you would be so kind, I'd like to speak with Lord Phantomhive in private." Sebastian looked to Ciel.

"Leave us, but stand right outside the door," Ciel ordered calmly. Sebastian bowed as he slowly closed the door, and the resident Phantomhive turned around in his chair. "Alright, you have your private conversation. I would now like a few answers."

"Certainly. However, a few of them may be answered by my true form," Gentle said. "I warn you fairly, minds unprepared for my visage have broken in the past."

"Do it anyway, you're not the first supernatural or disturbing thing I've seen," Ciel said. Gentle gave a shallow bow.

"As you wish." His voice was like a whale song, and as Ciel watched he changed. Around him, the air quivered like Gentle was burning hot, and behind the waves, he showed himself.

Gentle appeared to be revealed from behind a curtain of glass, one moment reflecting a tall human, and the next a humanoid carved from barnacle covered chitin and sprouting the tendrils of squid and octopods from his upper back, on his head replacing his hair, and his forearms. One a grotesque, squirming cloak, the second a slimy hood, and the other like long sleeves that almost touched the floor. All of them had bone hooks and suckers down their entire lengths. His face grew a third, vertical eye, and his mouth was filled with the teeth of sharks. His thin and round tongue, stretching down to his chest, was covered in spines that faced back toward his throat. His legs grew a second, backward facing knee, and his feet became predatory with talons. Looking back toward Gentle's face, Ciel noticed that his eyes were a brilliant silvery-pale green, like moonlit waves, and his pupils were… triangular?

"A thousand millennia of servitude to eldritch gods of the unknown depths in the ocean changed me to what you now see," Gentle explained, voice only slightly deeper now. "I have seen every creature that calls the unfathomable depths their home and called upon the powers of my masters to cause a few events you may know of. Tsunami's on occasion, storms that sank ships laden with gold hundreds of years ago, and directed the flow of fish towards coasts infested with disease, poisoning towns at the command of my old masters for their crimes against the lords of oceans and seas."

Ciel was a bit shell shocked if he was being honest. Questions sped through his mind, but one stood out first and foremost.

"What are you doing here, trying to serve me?" Gentle closed his eyes and one corner of his mouth lifted.

"My previous master wished to rest, during which time I would be useless to him, and he granted me a choice of new master, along with a Fate Vision," he answered. "I saw the stories of thousands of souls in this world, hundreds of thousands, perhaps more. I measured them all and chose you. I cannot recall anything of your life now, past or future, but I know that it must have interested me greatly since yours was the only name I wrote down, and so I came here to serve you."

"I'm flattered that you picked me out of the whole world. Now then, I believe you mentioned a discussion of pay should I choose to take you on?" Ciel hinted, gesturing to the chair in front of him. Gentle sat down, having changed back (somehow) when Ciel wasn't looking. He noticed that his suit was tailor-made, and almost perfectly matched Sebastian's, adjusted for size. He ignored that detail and continued. "How would you like to be paid for your service? The only part of me that will be around forever is already under contract, just so you know."

"Yes, I knew that. A mere eyepatch can't hide a symbol like that from people with a background like mine, and didn't you want the two-week trial?" Gentle asked.

"I see no need for it," Ciel said. "Even if you aren't able to handle my staff, which I'm beginning to doubt, you will certainly make a fine addition and a great help to Sebastian."

"Fair enough," Gentle said. "As for my pay. First, all of my meals must come from the sea. Fish, squid, even jellyfish, but it must have come from the salty waters of the world."

"Easy enough to arrange, what else?" Ciel asked.

"Time free on the solstices and full moons, I shall inform you in advance of when I must leave." He sighed and went on in a resigned tone. "Then there's the topic of the contract being arranged. In my experience, the strongest contracts are not marks, but sacrifice." Ciel stiffened, hands clenching the armrests of his chair.

"What… would that entail?"

"The larger the sacrifice, the stronger our bond. The requirements: it must be of your flesh since you are the one making the contract, and unmarked by entities of another world, which rules out that right eye of yours. It will hurt, but it will be replaced and the ritual of the contract shall not kill you. Fresh is better, so I will have to eat directly from you."

"If I understand this correctly… you will eat whatever parts of me that I can spare, and replace them?" Ciel asked uncertainly.

"Precisely. A grisly thought, I know, but I didn't make the rules. You must also be conscious through the entire thing, and unaddled. Anesthetic, unfortunately, is ruled out by that."

"Will I retain my replacements after you leave, or will I become an amputee?" Gentle shook his head.

"No catch with this sort of deal, though I commend your sharp mind. No, to answer your question, you shall retain everything given until the day you die." Ciel nodded. "In detail, the ritual is simple: a circle of sand large enough to house the both of us is constructed, and specific shells are placed at intervals around it. Seawater is used to wet the sand, and my… meal, I really have no other word for it, must be completed before it dries, giving us a window of around two hours, longer on a surface that doesn't absorb water as easily. Afterward, whatever is left is cleaned and buried in beach sand for a day to grow the rest of you."

Ciel nodded. He was a little shakier on the idea now that he knew what had to be given up, but having a servant like Gentle would only benefit the Phantomhive manor. If he had to be eaten alive for that, so be it, he'd had worse. He shuddered as he recalled wearing a corset.

"I agree to these terms. Inform Sebastian of everything, and let him know the details of the ritual," Ciel ordered. Gentle nodded, and then snapped his fingers.

"Oh! Almost forgot!" he said. "The ritual must be done in the dark of a new moon."

"Understood, inform Sebastian of this as well." Gentle nodded and opened the door. Sebastian was standing beside the entrance to the office, giving Gentle the side-eye. "Come with me, I have been told to inform you of the details." Sebastian did so after checking on Ciel, and the two entered Gentle's quarters. He spent a few minutes going over everything, including the ritual, and afterward, Sebastian sat still and stiff.

"You intend to dine upon my master?"

"Not for enjoyment, I can tell you that much," Gentle said. "Personally, I'd have gone with your idea. Less messy. I assure you, the inherent magic of the ritual ensures that both participants survive it."

"Shall it interfere with _my_ contract?" Sebastian asked.

"I'll avoid the right eye, and I'm only allowed to take what he says." Gentle sighed and placed a hand over his eyes. "This ritual is such a bother, but it's the only one strong enough to bond me with a mortal. Angels and demons and the like are only one plane removed from this one, so it's easy to make a contract. Try being six, and it gets a whole lot more troublesome." Sebastian did a double take.

"Six planes? I shudder to imagine who you served." Gentle gave a dark, humorless chuckle.

"If you actually tried that, your mind would shatter inwards, and you'd go mad."


	3. The Ritual Has Technical Difficulties

The time of the ritual was set for later that night, four days after Gentle had arrived. He'd shown skill as a butler on par with Sebastian and had managed to tame the personalities of the other four, previously useless, staff. Mey Rin was assisted with medication for minor ADHD, which was previously undiagnosed, and repaired glasses, markedly improving her clumsiness. With some coaching, even her behavior got better. Finny was taught ways to tone down his supernatural strength, and given the same behavioral lessons as Mey Rin. Baldroy didn't need as much improvement but was gifted a cookbook of detailed recipes on a world-class level and the same lessons as the others. Tanaka somehow evaded any lessons, but was instructed to bath twice a day in very hot water to keep himself "charged up."

Ciel's reflection was disturbed by a knock on his study door. "Come in."

"Master Ciel, we must prepare for the ritual," Gentle said, entering the room. "The staff has all gone to bed, and their dinner was drugged so that they'll wake up when you do." Ciel nodded. Gentle tilted his head. "You seem nervous."

Ciel chuckled. "Well, I'm about to willingly be eaten alive, surely nerves are to be expected?" Gentle was quiet as he crossed the room to stand on the other side of Ciel's desk.

"If there is any form of comfort that I may provide, now is the time to let me know," he said. This gave Ciel pause, and he thought about it.

"… I can't believe I'm asking for this," he muttered to himself.

"Nothing to be ashamed of," Gentle reassured him. Ciel sighed.

"If you can… I would like you to read to me." Gentle simply walked over to a nearby bookshelf.

"Anything, in particular, Master?" he asked.

"Something made up, with a happy ending," Ciel said. Gentle nodded and picked up a short fairy tale, returning to his spot before Ciel's desk.

"Before I begin, why are you so ashamed to want a story? I've known old men, soldiers, and captains of industry like yourself that have wanted the same thing," Gentle pointed out.

"… It seems childish to me, but I've never had someone else read a story." Gentle suddenly chuckled.

"Oh, Sebastian is going to hate me for taking this from him." He cleared his throat, stopping Ciel short before he could ask what he meant, and began to read. After two chapters, Ciel was getting drowsy, and Gentle had to stop before he fell asleep. "Come now, we really must get ready, Master."

"I know that," Ciel sighed. Anticipation had woken him right up again. "I just wish this wouldn't be so grisly."

"I wish for the same thing." They walked down into the wine cellar, where the walls were thickest, and found Sebastian putting the last touches on the sand circle. It had a diameter of fifteen feet, with seven shells arrayed around its circumference, and a mound of sand in the center large enough to bury Ciel in. He and Gentle both changed into simple robes, designed like the brown robes of monks and stood face to face in the center of the circle. Sebastian was outside, ready and waiting for the ritual to be over.

"Sebastian, I order you to not disturb the ritual until it is completed, no matter how many lines of the contract are broken," Ciel ordered, and Sebastian bowed.

"Yes, Master." Despite both of them knowing what would happen in a few moments, the contract would compel Sebastian to act like a man possessed. Without this order, he would rip Gentle to shreds or die trying in his pursuit to save Ciel.

To begin, Gentle transformed into his true shape and began speaking. "I invoke the bond of the ancient servant and choose a new master to serve. I place myself in a circle of sand with the mortal that I've chosen and call upon the powers of the ocean that each grain came from to chain myself to his service. This is the will of both parties, and may these words echo in the shells that surround us until they shatter and become the ocean floor." He nodded to Ciel.

"I am Ciel Phantomhive, new master to the one I know as Gentle. As the sea sank to let land breathe, I sacrifice my own body to shackle my fate to his. As the sea will one day claim land once more, I accept the doom that will welcome me because of this ritual. I willingly allow my servant to devour my whole body, except for the eye marked by hell, as the fish devour the corpses in the sea. To these oaths, I swear my immortal soul." He shut both of his eyes tight and stuck out his arm towards Gentle, who said the last lines of the ritual.

"I repent before and repent after the completion of this ritual for the pain my master shall endure by my hand. I swear, never again will such pain be endured by him if I am able to prevent it, and never shall I cause it again without just cause. In exchange for this gift of flesh, I shall serve him faithfully, dutifully, and loyally. This shall be true until such time as my master's inevitable demise. To these oaths, I swear my immortal soul." He took Ciel's hand of skin and nails into his two of claws and scales and began to eat as he uttered the last two words. "Forgive me."

It was hard to tell if Sebastian had ever seen something worse than what he witnessed that night, on Hell or Earth. It was a fate that one wished they could die of, and most would have from the shock alone. The power of the ritual didn't allow it, as shown by the glowing shells and twisting sand in the circle.

Gentle most definitely did not embody his namesake during the ritual. He tore Ciel apart in quick bites and rips, strips of raw red meat disappearing down his gullet, along with pale tendons and slightly yellow bones, crunching and snapping in his powerful jaws and teeth. Ciel screamed and screamed, first his left arm disappeared, then his right, then his legs, and then his torso from below up. Now gentle picked up his neck and still (silently) screaming head, and ate that from the bottom up as well, then crunched at his skull from the back to the front, leaving only his right eye. The entire thing had taken three hours, and despite appearances, Ciel could still feel the pain of being eaten.

To finish, Ciel's eye was buried in the mound of sand in the center of the circle, which was then encrusted with barnacles, anemones, and coral that grew supernaturally fast from the mound. When no sand could be seen through the covering of ocean life, the shells changed colors. Instead of the green-blue of the sea, they glowed the blue-white of the moon.

"He's ready when all of that dies and falls away," Gentle explained to Sebastian, licking the blood from his hands, arms, and face.

"How many times have you performed this ritual?" Sebastian asked.

"This is the fifth time I've bonded myself to a human master," Gentle said, now looking at the mound of life. "It was just as bloody those other times, but never has anyone given me so much of themselves. A single eye left, and you feel it all, what courage to go through that of your own will." He sounded as though he admired Ciel. "Come on, I'll fix us some tea before we sleep. It's a waiting game now." They both went to bed and slept for three days. Ciel had no appointments and the chores were all done beforehand, so nothing appeared out of the ordinary during the silent period.

On the third day, Sebastian and Gentle met in the wine cellar to await Ciel's return. The coral was all chalky white, mostly gone, and the same went for all of the life that once decorated the mound. The last piece fell away, and the glow of the shells finally died. Both butlers entered the circle and began digging their master out of the sand.

Even knowing that his body would be replaced, Sebastian was shocked to see his master's body restored to new after witnessing it being eaten. He was caked in sand of course and demanded a bath to be drawn immediately.

"God, I haven't been able to scratch myself for three days while buried in sand," he said, lavishing in the ability to finally rid himself of the grainy prison. "I cannot wait to get rid of all this sand."

"One has already been prepared for you, though I suggest a rinse before you make use of it," Gentle suggested. Ciel agreed and was immediately dunked with a bucket of water and covered with a bathrobe. Gentle turned to Sebastian. "Get him upstairs quick, I don't know how long until everyone else wakes up." He went to the kitchen and began to make breakfast while the butler ushered his charge to a bath, and thought up excuses for the time gap everyone had experienced as he made the batter for pancakes, just in case they asked about it.

The rest of the staff came down shortly and devoured the breakfast he'd made after three days without food. Tanaka managed to eat his own at a normal pace, and for the others, this was an average eating speed in the morning, so it wasn't strange to anyone. Gentle was just happy that he wouldn't have to explain anything.

"I swear, even though I'm the chef around here, you and Sebastian can both cook better than me!" Baldroy said, appearing slightly annoyed by the fact. "What am I good for if somebody else does my job better?"

"Don't be like that," Gentle said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I can't very well spend all my time in the kitchen, and neither can Sebastian. Not everyone is a world-class chef, but that doesn't mean you have to be one to make good food. I tell you, you've got more skill in your little finger than some 'professionals' in France have got in their whole bodies. You're top shelf quality, Baldroy, and don't forget it." The chef was overjoyed at the praise, crying tears of joy as he hugged Gentle. "Hold on, you just wanted me to compliment your cooking, didn't you?"

"I'm the one that needs soothing words here," Baldroy said, suddenly tear-free. He realized what he'd just done, and tried to go back to being comforted by Gentle, but the butler was having none of it.

"Get off of me, the stove is calling your name," Gentle said with a smile. "Mostly because none of your work is cooking on it, get moving." Begrudgingly, he did as he was told, and everyone else also got to work. Tanaka… was Tanaka. Gentle didn't know what the old man did all day, but anytime he went to find him and question this something came up. Quite strange. He left the kitchen and walked upstairs to check on Ciel.

He knocked on Ciel's door a minute later. "Enter," Ciel called, and Gentle walked through the door. His master was half dressed at the moment but was being helped into clothes by Sebastian. "Gentle, I wanted to talk with you, good timing."

"What is it you would like to discuss?" Gentle asked. Ciel finished off his outfit with his eyepatch and turned to his, now official, butler.

"I know we went over the specifics of the ritual, but I feel strange," he said, looking at his hand. "I notice things I hadn't previously, and everything feels like it's scraping raw nerves."

"You've been deprived of your senses for three days," Gentle explained. "Having them suddenly returned to you has confused your mind. If you've ever noticed it, it's like when you wear your eyepatch for a long time, and when you take it off you're sensitive to light on that side, yes?" Ciel nodded.

"I understand, but I also have another question. If the point of the ritual is sacrifice, then why does the ritual give back everything you lose?" Gentle grinned like a shark.

"What an _excellent_ question," he said. "I'll let you puzzle that question out on your own, but I'll give you a hint. Think about what you have given up and what the words of the ritual actually say." Ciel remembered the words clearly and looked through them in his mind to find the answer.

"All I can think of is the part about some kind of doom that I said, but I still don't understand, what doom?"

"Let me put it this way: your soul is hell bound thanks to Sebastian's contract, yes?" Ciel slowly nodded. "Well, your fate has been intertwined with mine. Just as the ritual wouldn't let you die until it was over, you won't die until I do." The Phantomhive and his butler both dropped their jaws.

"You… you made me… immortal?" Gentle shrugged.

"As close to immortal as you can get without selling your soul or a vampire bite," he answered. "You've got a few hundred millennia added to your hourglass, so now our deaths are perfectly timed to the exact same second." Ciel, for once, didn't know what to say. He turned to Sebastian.

"Doesn't that interfere with your contract, if we succeed?" Gentle's curiosity was piqued. Sebastian was also at a loss for words.

"If it were another demon I would say yes, but he's five planes above where I come from, and with the power of that ritual… I don't know which one would win."

"Hang on a moment, explain what I'm missing here. I thought your contract was a service agreement?" Gentle asked. Ciel shook his head.

"The agreement was that he served me until the people that murdered my parents are all dead, at which point my soul goes to hell," Ciel said. Gentle went still. Suddenly he dropped his head forward and hissed out a single word.

" _Shit._ "

* * *

 **Hello readers. As much as I hope you're enjoying this new story, I have to apologize for my lack of updates on my other three. Things have been hectic during Christmas break and with family matters, but I've gotten back into the swing of things, and my evaporated inspiration has come back with a vengeance. I plan to churn out chapters like Wonka with candy bars, and with half-finished chapters on all of my stories, everything should be getting an update in short order. Goodbye for now, and thank you for reading.**


	4. Conflicting Contracts

Gentle tried to explain the situation to the butler and the Phantomhive heir. "Hell deals in absolutes. How it normally works is a contract is made, completed, and then the mortal that signed the quite literally damned thing is dragged to hell." He sighed. " _However_ , since my contract has tied our fates together, and I'm bound by it to serve you, by extension, I also end up in hell should his contract be completed. The tricky bit is, you and I aren't allowed to die since our fates are also tied, and I haven't made a deal with him. Hell can only cut short a mortal life through a contract, and though I have a few more thousand years of life than most do, I am still guaranteed a place in the afterlife. The three of us are now a living paradox, and simultaneously a ticking universal time bomb."

"Wait, what does that mean?" Ciel asked. "Wouldn't your contract beat out Sebastian's because it's so strong?"

"That would be the case, except that as of right now they don't interfere with one another," Gentle explained. "They coexist, just waiting to rip each other apart as soon as the other one so much as sneezes, metaphorically speaking. As for the contract strength, it's hell itself that will claim you, not Sebastian. I don't know which one is more powerful if I'm being honest."

"If I may, it would seem as though for the moment things are alright." Ciel and Gentle agreed. "Then it is a problem for another day. From the sound of it, only until my contract with Master Ciel is completed do we need to worry about this."

"You're right, but I'd have rather solved this sooner than later." Gentle shrugged. "Nothing for it now, I'm afraid. It will be interesting to see what happens when the time comes." He turned to Ciel. "If there is nothing else we need to discuss, I shall take my leave."

"Go," Ciel sighed, rubbing his temples. "I've already got enough of one headache from all of this, I don't need another." Gentle bowed and left. Ciel turned to look at Sebastian. "You're not hiding anything, are you? This is a big deal."

"I can't deny that, but both of us are just as clueless about what will happen as you are," Sebastian said, making Ciel sigh. "So much sighing is bound to make you unconscious at some point, I suggest you stop."

"Then I'm going to need fewer reasons to sigh," Ciel replied sarcastically. He looked out over the grounds, watching as Finny and Pluto ran through the garden paths. "It seems as though I've exchanged a working staff for metaphysical headaches. I say it's a fair trade, all things considered." Sebastian's head tilted out of habit.

"Master, you seem…" he searched for the word. "… a bit more loose of tongue. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, probably stress and the ritual, Gentle did say our fates were tied after all. Perhaps we've exchanged a few personality traits as well." Sebastian sorely hoped that wasn't the case. He liked the butler, but not enough to want to serve a copy. "I'm fine at the moment. For now, attend to your other responsibilities." Sebastian bowed and left. Since he'd cleared this day as well as a precaution, he had nothing to do and decided to read up on contracts again. Maybe he'd get lucky and find a copy of his own situation in history.

Meanwhile, Gentle was trying to accustom himself to Pluto's presence. It was not going well in the slightest, for Gentle at least.

"Get off of me you overgrown pile of fur!" he yelled, trapped beneath the head of the biggest dog he'd ever met, currently lazing in the sun. "I'll turn you to chum and feed your pieces to sharks!"

"I wouldn't recommend threatening him," Sebastian said, walking closer to the trapped butler. A smug amusement was plain on his face. "When one has a guard dog, is the point not to make sure it can fight?" Gentle glared at him for a solid ten seconds.

"Shut up and get him off of me, the stench is slowly dragging me into unconsciousness." Sebastian whistled once, and the hellhound leaped from the ground to receive a scratch on the nose from the butler. Gentle cleared his lungs as he got up, coughing a few times. Several loud clicks could be heard coming from his dented chest, quickly returning to its normal shape. "Thank you, I suppose."

"Think nothing of it, Pluto is quite the handful," Sebastian said. "I much prefer cats to dogs."

"Then why the most unmanageable dog in existence?" Gentle asked. Sebastian sighed.

"My master promised to take care of him after his previous owner couldn't. It fell to me to do most of the work, as per usual, and so I trained him to at least have some manners." Pluto transformed into a human at this point, squatting on his haunches while still being scratched on the top of his head. Gentle was mildly surprised. "Clothes, unfortunately, are still something I have yet to teach him."

"If you managed to train the beast, I might be able to teach the man," Gentle said.

"Oh?" Sebastian asked, intrigued.

"Oh indeed. I have a few thousand years of experience manipulating the minds of creatures and men alike." He grinned as he took a page from Sebastian's book. "If I couldn't do this, then what kind of butler would I be?" Sebastian chuckled a little at his own phrase being used. He elected to ignore the fact that he'd never used it in front of Gentle before.

"Alright then, demonstrate your powers of instruction," Sebastian said, stepping away from Pluto. The human-shaped hellhound whined at him but kept his spot when his favorite person in the world pointed his finger firmly at him, and then to the man behind him. He tried to turn around but froze when he got halfway there. He could see… _something_ out of the corner of his eye. Were he still in his giant dog form, his hackles would have been on the rise.

"Listen," a hissing voice whispered in his ear. Somehow the man that was a few feet away was talking right next to his ear. "No, _listen_." He listened. "Good boy. Now think of your master, the one you obey." He thought of Sebastian. He thought about how good it felt to be scratched on his nose, and his ears, and the top of his head. "No, _think of your master_." Only Sebastian remained in his thoughts. "Good boy. But that is not your only master. Think of Gentle, your other master." He thought of the man he'd laid down on and felt guilty for being so casual with his master without permission. "You know what you did then. But you can make it up to him. Listen to him as you would Sebastian, for they are equals." His mind placed the two right beside one another.

"Your effectiveness is admirable, but I've yet to see anything aside from new loyalties being established," Sebastian commented. Gentle walked forward and kneeled at eye level with Pluto, not breaking contact.

"I'm getting there." He held the sides of Pluto's head, and to the hellhound, his eyes appeared to shift in strange ways. He saw flashes of color and shapes that didn't belong in eyes moving about in his master's pupils. He felt something filling the back of his mind like squirming worms, cold and wriggling, and he shuffled in place uncomfortably. "Keep still, Pluto, keep still for your master." He obeyed despite his discomfort, and eventually, the feeling stopped. He shook his head a few times, then suddenly felt the urge to sleep. He walked off to find a place to rest, not realizing in his drowsiness that he was on two legs instead of four. Gentle turned to an impressed Sebastian. "He'll have to sleep off the rooting around I did, but he now has a more useful mind."

"I expected some type of surgery to be involved if I'm being perfectly frank," the butler said. "What exactly did you do to him?"

"It's still Pluto in there, he just has a separate personality for his two forms, as opposed to the dog in both. They'll both be aware of things no matter which form he's in, but this should make it easier to handle things when we have guests." He looked to the sun. "My, look at the time, I spent longer with that than I expected. It's 6:48 and I haven't even begun making the dessert course." Sebastian checked his pocket watch.

"You're off by three minutes, it's a quarter to seven." Gentle smiled.

"Check it against a sundial if you like, but your watch is slow at the moment. Come, I'll need assistance with the macaroons and… I think a cherry pie would be nice." Sebastian didn't admit that Gentle was right about the watch, and stared a hole into the back of his head as they walked to the kitchen. He stopped when he spotted the eyes looking back at him.

Baldroy was working on roast beef with garlic mashed potatoes and a salad side, paying careful attention to the time he had left on the roast beef before he started the mashed potatoes. Mey Rin was setting a tray out for when the food was done, and Finny was keeping the fires hot with fresh wood. Gentle had transformed the kitchen into a well-oiled machine.

The two butlers began preparing dessert, and it didn't go unnoticed how they were trying to outdo one another. Where Sebastian would spin a knife around his hand, Gentle would juggle them between steps in the recipe. If Gentle tossed a bowl of dry ingredients, Sebastian would flip it through the air. This continued as they worked, never once forgetting that the dessert was the goal, but the other butler in the kitchen was the competition.

Dinner was served, with the young master asking questions about his company as he ate, and about Pluto's absent tromping through the grounds.

"That would be my doing, Master," Gentle said. "I've tried an oriental dog training method I picked up some time ago, and he's been sleeping off its effects since earlier this evening." Ciel nodded.

"Hopefully he learned something from the experience," he said. He saw through Gentle's lie as soon as they made eye contact, but didn't say anything with his staff so close nearby. When Ciel finished his dinner he left to get ready for bed, followed by Sebastian. Everyone else stayed behind to clean up dishes, a short affair since only one person had eaten and then moved down to the kitchen for their own dinner. Gentle passed unnoticed from the group as they went, heading to his own room instead.

Inside the room was a strange sight. In place of a bed was what looked like a wooden tub filled with frosty water and sand, coated in barnacles and seaweed. The ceiling faded into impenetrable darkness and gave the illusion of limitless space, while the floor was covered in the shells of shrimp, crabs, and clams. Bones were flung haphazardly around the room, dripping with blood and growing salt crystals. To Gentle, it felt like home. He grabbed a plate of fresh fish and crabs on his way to the tub.

He transformed into his supernatural form and lounged in the near-freezing water as he nibbled at his dinner, letting his mind wander. It was a dangerous venture for one like himself to do so, but it had its uses. The tentacles on his body slowly awakened, stretching about the room and scratching surfaces with their bony hooks, seemingly searching for something. Gentle's meal and his thoughts were interrupted by his tentacles bringing an object to his attention. Cradled in their suckered grip was a vial of very special blood from his previous master, a sample of what he had used to see the future and choose Ciel as his master. He took the vial from the slimy cradle and held it in his hand, thinking about its uses. He came to a decision.

His tentacles retrieved a square of whalebone, Ciel Phantomhive was still carved in it from its previous use and he unstopped the vial of blood. He carefully dripped a single drop of blood into his third eye and quickly stoppered the bottle before the blood could take effect. The room faded away, and he was left with a vision of time spun into an infinite web of possibilities.

"Show me the future of Ciel Phantomhive," he whispered into the void. The next thing he knew he was back in his room. He looked at the whalebone to see what message he had given himself this time but was confused by what he'd written. It almost looked like a poem.

"Two servants,

Two planes,

Dead master,

Who claims?

Refuse the fire,

Renounce the sea,

Watch your step,

The gods see.

To the land of dust,

The edge of the world,

Pursuit on your heels,

Beware which shroud you unfurl."


	5. Living Like a Brighton Devotee

**Jyx is back everyone, and I am very sorry for the unannounced hiatus. I lost interest in my stories for a while, mostly because I was busy with other things, and I apologize for the wait. Believe me, I understand the frustration of seeing a story go dead halfway through on this site. Fear not, I intend to work like mad on all of my stories, and deliver new chapters at breakneck speeds that make Sonic look slow. For now, enjoy the fresh content, and I will see you all later.**

* * *

"What am I looking at, Gentle?" Ciel asked. In his hand sat the pale tablet of whalebone, carved with his name and the weird poem.

"I wrote that while in a blood-induced trance, same as your name," Gentle explained. "I came into your service thanks to using this ritual the first time and carving your name. The poem, on the other hand, I can only decipher bits and pieces of."

"What have you figured out so far?" Sebastian asked.

"The first two lines are talking about Sebastian and me, that much is obvious," Gentle said, "two servants and two planes. Three and four suggest that in the future you die and that stalemate we discussed comes back to haunt us." Ciel sighed.

"I hate that you didn't think to write down the answer to it. What else?"

Gentle continued. "Five and six are vague, but I believe it means for Sebastian and I to give up our allegiances."

"Preposterous, I'm a demon, how do I stop serving Hell?" Sebastian asked, to which Gentle shrugged.

"That's what I'm confused about. I don't have a better idea on my part either, but apparently, when we try the gods don't like it if lines seven and eight are anything to go off of. Nine and ten appear to be a mode of escape and describe a land of dust at the end of the world, I can only assume that to be a desert, but then I'm stuck on the last two lines. The gods don't pursue, they strike instantaneously, and the part about shrouds comes out of nowhere."

"Shrouds could mean darkness or death, so perhaps we are offered a choice of some kind." He looked at Sebastian. "Any thoughts?"

"The pursuit could be servants of hell and the sea," he thought out loud. "Gentle is right that gods don't pursue themselves, but there are hundreds of thousands of servants in hell, and I doubt that gentle is the only servant of however many eldritch gods are in the sea." Gentle scrunched his pale brow in thought.

"Somewhere around the fifteen mark I think, there are a lot." He shook his head. "So, that's what I have so far."

"Is it a coincidence that any prophecy ever read has been vague and unhelpful?" Ciel sighed. He handed Gentle the whalebone. "At least yours seems to give a few straight answers. So, if we lay it out properly things go as follows: I die, the stalemate somehow forces the two of you to give up your allegiances except to me, we all run from their servants, find sanctuary in a desert, and then some kind of choice is made."

"I should also mention that it's entirely possible I was trying to be a prick when I made this prophecy – if you'll excuse my language," Gentle said. "How I mean that is, I could have led us astray or tricked us into either an amusing or favorable outcome with this. There's really no way to tell until the events described come to pass and we may look back on them."

"In other words," Sebastian said, "don't trust what you say, but don't disregard it entirely?"

"A little wordy, but yes," Gentle answered. "I know that it isn't at all helpful, and for that I'm sorry."

"You're not at fault here, Gentle," Ciel said. He checked his watch and then rose from his desk. "We need to get going, there is a new investigation happening in a port town south of London that requires our attention. A woman has been murdered in an unusual way according to reports." Sebastian draped him with a coat and handed him his hat and cane, and the two butlers grabbed their own coats before they left.

The supernatural servants sat in the front of the carriage, though Gentle appeared to be asleep. None of them hardly moved for the hour-long drive to the sea, but Gentle began perking up when the scent and sound of the ocean reached them.

"Home sweet home," he muttered to himself as the carriage passed a sign welcoming them to Brighton.

Things seemed normal enough in the town; shops were open and busy, people walked about easily, and nothing strange jumped out at the group. They rode to the police station with their eyes peeled regardless. They introduced themselves to the officers in the station, and after the customary round of disbelief were taken to see the body. What was left of it anyway.

"This is all that was found at the crime scene," the officer escorting them explained. "Anything missing we assume to have been disposed of by the guilty party." The woman was missing both arms and her left leg below the knee, and her stomach had been emptied of internal organs. Each wound looked almost torn open by jagged blades.

"Thank you, officer, we shall take care of it from here," Sebastian said. The cop nodded and left, shivering on his way out.

"The wounds weren't made by human hands," Gentle said after the door closed. "My guess would be shark bites, at least for the limbs." Sebastian thumbed through the woman's hair.

"No salt, she was never in the water," he argued. "My guess would have been sharks as well, but there would be wounds all over, or no body at all." Gentle nodded. Ciel narrowed his eyes.

"Gentle, did you make wounds like this during the ritual?" Gentle looked at the woman's arms closer.

"It would be difficult to tell them apart, yes." He looked at Ciel, also narrowing his eyes. "You don't think _I_ would do something like this, do you? You humans taste so unpleasant, and how in the sand of a beach would my schedule allow me to ride from the manor to here and back that fast?" Ciel facepalmed with a sigh.

"I wasn't implicating you, Gentle, I just thought that the similarity was uncanny is all." He scrunched his brow and began thinking out loud. "She was never in the water, but was mauled and torn open by sharks, or something similar. What bites like that on land?"

"Hold on a moment," Gentle said, perking up. He shoved a hand into the torso of the cadaver, rooting around in the cold intestines up to his elbow as Ciel turned green and Sebastian sneered in disgust. "Come on, you're in here somewhere."

"What in God's name-?!"

"Gotcha!" Gentle said, cutting off Ciel. He retracted his arm, now coated in a thick layer of gore, and something squirming was clenched in his hand. "Allow me to introduce you two to the Hagfish, a species of eel that wriggles inside of living fish and eats them from the inside while they live. Also a calling card of one rather nasty servant of one particularly cruel eldritch being. No clue what business she has in this town, but I know her work when I see it." The other two men had calmed themselves, and Ciel inspected the strange creature.

"A lady did this and put that thing in her? Who?" he asked, receiving a harsh bark of a laugh.

"Ha, she wishes! That _woman_ is as much a lady as you are a common rat, my lord," Gentle said, crushing the eel and wiping away the grime on his arm. "The culprit is one Sey Ghind' Itch, servant to a god whose name I have no chance of pronouncing correctly, and an absolute fanatic for her boss." He looked over at the deceased woman who he'd just rooted around in. "I feel sorry for this one if she was on the receiving end of Sey's handiwork."

"You don't say," Sebastian said, earning a bonk on the head from Ciel's cane. He continued without acknowledging it. "Where might we find her, and how would we bring her to justice?"

"Simple, we don't. A fanatic and a freak she may be even among the eldritch, but she is a strict follower of the rules and there is no chance that this was done without reason," Gentle explained, putting a hand to his chin and scrunching his brow. "Nobody else would have done this, I'm certain of that, but meeting with Sey to ask her what's going on is asking for mountains of trouble. If you'll allow me to suggest, sir, I say we leave her be."

"We were ordered by the Queen to solve this case, and that's what we'll do," Ciel said. "If we can't bring the one who did this to justice, then we must at the very least explain why that is. How do we contact her?" Gentle gave a long-suffering sigh, palms pressed to his eyes, and then dragged his hands down his face.

"I _really_ wanted to avoid this," he muttered. "Let's find somewhere more secluded."

Half an hour later found the three outside of the port town a good distance, in a clearing in the woods. Gentle cleared his throat, and then spoke in a clear voice.

"Sey Ghind' Itch, I need to sp – OOMPH!" Ciel and Sebastian looked over to where Gentle had been thrown by something travelling at high speed… or, rather, tackled?

"MASTER! It's been ages, Master, I've missed you so!" A bubbly, girly voice that sounded like it belonged to a teenage girl shouted enthusiastically. "Did you see what I did for you in the town, Master? The girl who cast disrespect to the sea has been dealt with, just like I promised you! Are you proud, Master?!"

"Calm down Sey, please. Control yourself." Like a shot, the girl launched away from Gentle and sat kneeling a few feet away, bouncing with excitement but otherwise silent. Gentle turned to Ciel and Sebastian, eyes tired enough to belong to a factory worker running a fourteen-hour shift without coffee. "Allow me to introduce Sey, a devout… follower of mine." He added, "that I can't get rid of," under his breath. The two swiveled shocked looks at the girl, and decided that she definitely looked the part.

Deep green hair, fish scales, fin-like ears, shark teeth, fins tracing her arms and spine, and a tail that couldn't be attributed to any known sea life but was definitely aquatic were immediately noticeable. The next thing to jump at Ciel was her missing left eye, covered by an eye patch fashioned from seaweed with a long vertical scar running underneath it, and the small, arm-sized brass cannon strapped to her back on a leather bandolier full of powder charges and hefting a bag of cannonballs near her hip; both were covered in sea life and appeared very old fashioned, but were very well kept. Her untouched eye was a shocking bright purple with a triangular pupil, shot through with sea green; it kept twitching about, as though she couldn't focus on one thing for too long or risk exploding.

The two men averted their gazes, quickly noticing that both her frankly enormous assets and her more delicate parts were on full display and steadfastly refused to stare, instead looking to Gentle. They both had the same idea, but Sebastian got it out before Ciel did.

"Explain."

"In a moment," Gentle said, tossing a large robe at the girl and gently ordering her to wear it. Aside from a short-lived groan of annoyance, she complied, and the four of them sat down in the clearing; Ciel and Sebastian were sitting across from a Sey who obviously was physically holding herself back from cuddling up to a Gentle who was not having it, but he caved and eventually allowed it, and she immediately wrapped herself around his left arm. "I rescued Sey from superstitious sailors a few decades back who were trying to take her away from the ocean, thinking that the "mermaid" they'd found would give them protection from storms and the like. Seeing as that would have killed her, and they had already offended my master, I intervened, and she swore herself to me on the spot." Sey giggled, cuddling somehow even closer to Gentle.

"I love that story, gets me every time. Tell them about what I did for you that one time!" Sey said excitedly.

"She, uh…" he grumbled something under his breath. "… fought a swarm of Cookie Cutter sharks over a scrap of tuna I was about to finish after I dropped it, losing her eye in the process." This one he seemed a bit remorseful about, if such an emotion could be applied to something like Gentle. Sey sighed in what could have been happiness, but was probably more akin to the sigh of a woman in afterglow on her honeymoon, and shuddered in pleasure with her eyes closed at the memory.

"I can never forget that day, and he even let me have the tuna afterwards! Ah, Master!" she cried softly, embracing him and stepping over about seven boundaries of personal space to shove her face into the crook of Gentle's neck as she climbed into his lap.

"Sey, control yourself," he ordered, numb to her eccentricities and advances. She didn't hesitate to yank herself back from him, but maintained touch with their intertwined hands seemingly unable to handle anything less than that.

He hadn't looked away from Ciel and Sebastian throughout the exchange, and continued as though nothing had occurred. "I don't know what to do for her, and I can't just abandon her. Most of the time she's harmless, but she goes overboard with everything I tell her to do, and being from the same plane as me means I can't change her mind like I did Pluto. I once sent her to get some food and she came back with seven dolphins in tow, nearly ripped to shreds."

"I see…" Ciel said, looking from the despondent Gentle to Sey, who was only looking at her "Master" with lovey-dovey eyes and occasionally sighing in happiness.

"Truly, a hopeless situation: a woman who is so devoted you can't get rid of her, and who has lost so many marbles that you can hardly use a plural anymore," Sebastian seemed to be having flashbacks of a terrible sort, if his thousand-yard-stare and hung head were any indication. "Look on the bright side, at least yours is actually a woman."

"That's going to need a _heavy_ dose of context later, Sebastian," Gentle replied. "Can we focus on the problem at hand for a moment, please?"

"Why not keep her with you?" Ciel asked, receiving two deadpan stares for his efforts.

"Master, I suggest you imagine for a moment that you asked that same question of Grell, and take a moment to reevaluate the situation." This was Sebastian's way of saying: "Rethink that bullshit immediately, or I will punt a one-eyed midget all the way back to the manor."

Ciel felt the hand of death on his shoulder, and the shiver of a millennia of Winter days spent buck naked in the cold rolled its way up his spine. He released a labored breath and sucked in a much-needed gulp of air. "I understand, but where else is she going to go? Grell has a job and a home, but unless I'm wrong, Sey doesn't have either."

"The only home I need is my Master," Sey said, eye still glued to Gentle's face and smiling like a girl in love. At a volume they could barely hear, obviously meant only for Gentle, she said, "And the only job I need is the one I get on my hands and knees before him." For his part, Gentle kept a remarkably solid poker face, but Ciel blushed at the heavy-handed insinuation.

"Unfortunately, you're right," Gentle sighed. "Any damage she causes will be on me, and by extension Master Ciel, and so we have to take her in if only for damage control purposes." To Sey, he said, "How about it, do you want to-"

"Yes. I don't care about whatever the conversation was, just yes." She closed her eyes and snuggled her face into Gentle's arm, taking the occasional sniff for her own sake.

"Whatever possessions you have, gather them and meet me at the carriage in no more than three hours' time," Gentle ordered.

"Yes, Master," she sighed, regretfully letting go of his arm and dashing off to do as he asked.


End file.
